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Julius Shulman, 1910-2009

Julius Shulman, 1910-2009

Legendary architectural photographer Julius Shulman died of heart failure Wednesday night at his home in Los Angeles. He was 98. In his career, which spanned eight decades, Shulman became arguably the most famous architectural photographer in the world, and he is credited with spreading California Modernism and its ideals of structural purity and outdoor living to an international audience.

Shulman, born in Brooklyn on October 10, 1910, died just two months shy of his 99th birthday, and—with the exception of a short-lived retirement during the rise of Postmodernism (which he detested)—had been continuously working around the world until the beginning of this year, when his health had begun to decline. In his later years he at Woodbury University, an archive and education center.

For all these reasons and so many more, Shulman will forever be a fixture of architecture, and of American culture. “A light has gone out in LA," Serraino said. "He was the last survivor of his era. The magnitude of Julius’ work is yet to be appraised. It’s something that’s going to take quite a while to absorb.”

Asked what his legacy would be years from now, McKee said she was sure of one thing: “They’ll know about him, that’s for sure.”

Please share memories, thoughts, and impressions of the photographer on The A|N Blog.

In AN 15_09.19.2007, Richard Barnes interviewed Julius Shulman about his life, work, and fame.

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